As the UK’s media regulator enforces the Online Safety Act, a lawyer for the online message board 4chan says the site will not pay a proposed fine. Ofcom has temporarily agreed to levy a £20,000 punishment “with daily penalties thereafter” for as long as the website does not comply with its request, according to Preston Byrne, managing partner of the legal company Byrne & Storm.
He told the BBC, “Ofcom’s notices create no legal obligations in the United States,” and that he thought the regulator’s probe was a part of a “illegal campaign of harassment” targeting US tech companies. “My client will not pay any penalties because 4chan has not broken any laws in the United States,” Mr. Byrne stated. Ofcom started looking into 4chan to see if it was fulfilling its responsibilities under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
Then, in August, it claimed that 4chan had received “a provisional notice of contravention” for not responding to two information requests. According to Ofcom, the investigation will look at whether the message board was adhering to the act’s duties, which include safeguarding its users from unlawful content.
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